Marco Rubio confronts Russia minister over Ukraine, says US ‘frustrated’ by Moscow’s stalling

The Russian side described the meeting as a “substantive and frank exchange of views,” according to a statement from Moscow.

“We understand that these things take time and patience, but obviously we’re also frustrated that more progress has not been made, and hopefully we, based on today, and in the days to come, we’ll have more clarity about what exactly the Russian position and priorities are in this regard, and can begin to make some progress,” Rubio said.

❗️Rubio Describes Conversation with Lavrov as “Frank and Important” https://t.co/YuyDK7BGLZ pic.twitter.com/mFd1QD539O

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 10, 2025

Rubio also revealed that Lavrov shared “a new idea” related to Ukraine — though he offered no specifics. “It’s not a new approach. It’s a new idea or a new concept that I’ll take back to the president to discuss,” he said. While cautioning that it was not a breakthrough, Rubio added, “It could potentially open the door to a path” toward peace.

The meeting comes as Trump reiterated multiple times this week that Ukraine urgently needs defensive weapons, after a brief but controversial halt in arms shipments caused uncertainty about the future of US support.

The pause, reportedly authorised by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth without informing the White House, also caught Rubio off guard, according to a CNN report. The Pentagon’s unilateral decision was short-lived, as Trump quickly moved to clarify the US stance.

“Putin is not — he’s not treating human beings right,” Trump said of Russian President on Tuesday. “He’s killing too many people.”

“So we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I’ve approved that,” the president said.

Trump also lashed out at Putin, accusing him of making hollow overtures toward peace: “He has offered a lot of ‘bulls**t’ which has proved to be ‘meaningless.’”

Shortly after Trump’s remarks, Russia escalated its offensive by launching what Ukraine’s Air Force called its largest drone attack to date — over 700 drones were deployed across Ukrainian territory.

The meeting in Kuala Lumpur is Rubio’s second face-to-face with Lavrov this year, the first having taken place in Saudi Arabia. The two have also held multiple phone conversations in recent months as Washington pushed for a ceasefire — efforts that ultimately failed to produce results.

Earlier in his second term, Trump had adopted a more conciliatory tone toward Putin in hopes of brokering a deal to end the war. But with Russia’s continued aggression and mounting civilian casualties, the president’s frustration has turned increasingly public — creating a more confrontational backdrop for US-Russia diplomacy.